VIENTIANE, Jun 3 (NNN-KPL) – It is estimated that about 2,000 Lao nationals are currently working in Malaysia illegally, and the Lao authorities plan to work with the Malaysian side to have these groups of people registered and work legally, local daily Vientiane Times reported.
Director General of the Department of Employment, under the Lao Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, Anousone Khamsingsavath, said, her department aims to ensure that no Lao nationals are working in Malaysia illegally, and that, the two governments take steps to legalise Lao workers.
“We will work with the Malaysian Embassy in Laos, to see what can be done to rectify the situation, including signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), on multifaceted labour cooperation between our two countries,” Vientiane Times quoted the Lao official as saying.
“But we may run into difficulties because Laos and Malaysia do not have an MoU that supports a strong relationship in this area. All areas of cooperation between the governments are required to be endorsed by an MoU,” the official added.
MoUs serve to help the signatories to engage in the sharing of experiences and operations, form partnerships at the regional level, and determine the direction of international labour policies within tripartite and regional systems, Anousone told the daily.
An MoU in the labour sector would pave the way for Lao nationals to work in Malaysia legally, and protect their rights and interests in keeping with international principles and their legal entitlement, she added.
Such an agreement would cover workforce development, employment, protection, social security, human trafficking prevention, academic cooperation, and collaboration on other issues.
“If we have this kind of agreement, it would encourage cooperation in skills training to strengthen the management capacity of trainers and skills development officers, and increase workforce productivity,” she said.
According to the report, Lao nationals working in South Korea, Japan, Thailand and Malaysia are often employed in small and medium enterprises in agriculture, the service sector and other industries.
“Of these countries, only Malaysia has yet to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Laos to strengthen relationship between the two governments towards closer cooperation in relation to labour,” the Lao daily said.– NNN-KPL
